Microchipped twice!

jennyr

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I don't know what to do, or whether to do anything. I have just taken in my mother's cat, Cinders, as she is no longer able to look after her (she is 93 and has to care for my father, who has dementia). In order to come to France, my mother took Cinders to the vet and got her a pet passport and her rabies shots, which are not normal for a UK cat unless it is travelling. But the vet microchipped her for the passport without checking (or maybe she did, and my mother didn't understand, which is possible) whether she had already been done, which she had been when she was adopted from Battersea Cats Home. And she put the new number in the passport.

It is very unlikely that Cinders will ever move again; as far as I am concerned she is here for good. And she is an indoors cat - at my mother's house she ventured a few feet into the garden if my mother was out there, and then rushed in again, so she will not go out here. But if there were need to identify her for any reason, what would happen? Should I put both numbers on her passport and register them with the vet? Would a scanner pick up both numbers automatically? I have never heard of this happening before!
 

goldenkitty45

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To be on the safe side, I'd register both numbers with an explanation attached so there is no mistake in case one is read and not the other. That is really weird.
 

mschauer

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I can't say I know for sure but I would think having 2 chips would cause a problem for a scanner. The chips would respond at the same time when scanned and cause the scanner to receive a jumbled response.
 

white cat lover

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Originally Posted by mschauer

I can't say I know for sure but I would think having 2 chips would cause a problem for a scanner. The chips would respond at the same time when scanned and cause the scanner to receive a jumbled response.
That is what I wonder. I wonder if the chips will in effect, cancel each other out.

Can you take her to someplace that has a scanner to find out if they can read it?
 

mschauer

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Was one chip implanted in the US and the other in Europe? The reason I ask is that US chips use a different communications protocol than chips used in Europe and therefore do not interfere with one another.
 
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jennyr

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Both chips were done in the UK, though several years apart. I will speak to the vet here in France about it and get him to scan her and see what heppens.
 

mschauer

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Originally Posted by jennyranson

Both chips were done in the UK, though several years apart. I will speak to the vet here in France about it and get him to scan her and see what heppens.
You might to ask about having one removed also. It is possible that during any given scan that: only chip 1 responds OR only chip 2 responds OR both chips respond. So when your vet does the scan even if everything looks OK I would worry about what might happen during the subsequent scans.
 

jcat

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I'd definitely have the vet do a scan, and if both chips "register", have both of them entered in the pet passport.
 

breal76

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It will not affect the cat.


I speak from experience.


I have seen quite a few animals with two microchips. I joke that it's an extra security bonus.

Anyway make sure you register both of them.

When a scanner scans it will only pick up one code. Which ever is closer to the scanner will be the one it reads.
 

madpiano

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cats also "lose" chips - I rescued a cat before which was microchipped before it went missing, when it came to me there was no microchip (had her scanned at the Vets), but thankfully the owner could recognize her by a nick in the ear.

Maybe the first chip has gone walkabouts ?
 

taterbug

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Originally Posted by madpiano

cats also "lose" chips - I rescued a cat before which was microchipped before it went missing, when it came to me there was no microchip (had her scanned at the Vets), but thankfully the owner could recognize her by a nick in the ear.

Maybe the first chip has gone walkabouts ?
You know...that's one thing that has me wary of getting them for my cats. I wonder if they could travel to their bloodstream and lodge in their heart or a lung!
 

madpiano

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I don't know if it is dangerous. But my cats are indoor/outdoor, so I'd rather have them chipped (Bubbles doesn't like collars and has them off faster than we can put them on...)
 
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jennyr

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There are two chips in her - we scanned her and they are there, in slightly different places. So I will put both numbers on her documents. It is just an unfortunate occurrence.
 

lore

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This may be silly... 'urban legend maybe'
But I remember being told that those Microchips lead to tumors and cancers... so I've kept those things out of my kitties...


I would imagine if that were true... you all woudln't have them
 
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jennyr

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Thi is an urban rumour that emerges every now and then. There is such a thing as vaccine sarcoma, but it usually occurs if a cat is injected many times at hte same site, which is why good vets vary the sites they use. I have never heard of any such thing happening with microchips.
 

starryeyedtiger

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We had this happen at our shelter recently. I was NOT thrilled about it. One of our staff members did not put the proper paperwork in one of our dogs files when she was adopted and then returned the first time- so in the chart- it read that she had not been chipped. When her new owner adopted her, they asked if she wanted the dog chipped- she said yes, so the staff member chipped the dog...AGAIN!

Even if the paperwork was not in the file there is no excuse for that happening- the animal should have been scanned with a microchip scanner just to be safe before hand and that was not done. Long story short though- both chips show up under the scanner- they're in slightly different areas of her upper shoulder blade area. We contacted the microchip company (we use Home Again) and they said that both numbers need to be registered and just attach an email- side note with information when registering them.
 
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